Fung v. Magaziner One of the Nastiest Races in the U.S. - Top Political Expert Breaks Down Contest

Saturday, October 01, 2022

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Candidates for 2nd Congressional District - Seth Magaziner (D) and Allan Fung (R) PHOTOS: Campaigns

The battle for the second congressional district being vacated by Democratic Rep. Jim Langevin is one of the hottest races in the United States.

It is one of about two dozen highly competitive battles that will determine control in the House of Representatives.

But, make no mistake about it -- most every major political scientist believes the House will flip from blue to red.

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"Based on the ratings [by the Cook Report], Democrats could lose 12 seats to Republicans. If the Democrats lose even a handful of those seats, they will lose their majority," writes The New York Times.

And, the battle in Rhode Island between Republican Allan Fung and Democrat Seth Magaziner has turned nasty with allegations of misdeeds and lying levied by each campaign.

One of the top political scientists in the United States discussed with GoLocal what Fung and Magaziner need to do to win in their respective battle for the vacant seat.

University of Virginia Professor Jennifer Lawless, chair of the political science department, joined GoLocal LIVE on Friday to break down the race.

 

Battle Over Control

“At the end of the day, this is a race about party and party control, and it has a lot less to do with Allan Fung and Seth Magaziner than it has to do with Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy and whether people want Republicans or Democrats in control of the House of Representatives,” said Lawless, who once ran for the seat when she was a professor at Brown University.

“And as a result, the allegations that both Fung and Magaziner are launching and lobbing at one another have a lot more to do with the national parties than necessarily either of these two personalities, so this is a situation where Seth Magaziner wins this race, I think, if he can make the case that it doesn't matter what positions Allan Fung holds.  It doesn't matter how he differentiates himself from Republicans in Washington.  What matters is that sending Allan Fung to Washington is another vote for Kevin McCarthy,” adds Lawless.

 

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Allan Fung PHOTO: GoLocal

Fung Path to Victory

"Allan Fung manages to win this race if he can make the case that he is not Kevin McCarthy, he is different. He understands Rhode Island and sending him to Washington at a time when the Republicans will likely control the House anyway is an opportunity for Rhode Island to at least have a voice in what's going on in the House of Representatives,” said Lawless.

 

Magaziner Has Edge

"I think both arguments could potentially carry weight at the end of the day, it seems to me that Magaziner has a better shot simply because this seat has been in Democratic hands for more than 20 years. Democrats are ready to fight hard to maintain Democratic control and the Democrats are going to be putting a lot of money into this contest,” said Lawless. It should be noted that Lawless is a donor to Magaziner.

 

Charges and Counter Charges Flying

This week, the campaign turned especially nasty.

Fung charged Magaziner voted to fund a controversial pyrolysis-based MedRycycler plant.

"Seth Magaziner has no problem accepting endorsements from pro-environment groups, while at the same time voting against their interests behind the scenes," said Fung spokesman Steven Paiva.  The reference was to Magaziner’s stand on a controversial project. “At the same time voting to approve $13 million dollars in taxpayer backed funding for the pyrolysis-based MedRecycler plant that thousands of residents of East Greenwich and West Warwick railed against,” said Fung’s campaign.

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Seth Magaziner PHOTO: GoLocal

Magaziner claimed Fung's election will pave the way for a national abortion ban.

“Allan Fung’s extreme record on abortion rights is clear - he opposed making Roe v. Wade the law in Rhode Island in 2019, he has said he’s for allowing states to pass abortion bans without exceptions, and his first vote in Congress would be to make Kevin McCarthy Speaker, who has pledged to pass a national abortion ban that would override state-level protections for women, even in Rhode Island,” said Communication Director for Magaziner’s campaign Patricia Socarras.

Fung's campaign fired back. "While Seth and his extreme radical friends advocate for elective late-term abortions, he is so desperately scared to discuss the failed Pelosi Biden economic record he embraces that he has to lie about Allan to instill fear when we all know Allan Fung is completely opposed to bans," said Fung's spokesman Paiva. "Is there anything he won't lie about?"

Then, Magaziner claimed that a vote for Fung would allow McCarthy to roll back IRS enforcement against the wealthy.

"Once again, Allan Fung is protecting Kevin McCarthy, Donald Trump and the wealthiest Americans that want to continue to cheat their way out of paying their fair share,” said Magaziner's Communications Director Socarras. “It is morally wrong that millionaires and billionaires can shoot rockets into space while paying less in taxes than Rhode Islanders who are struggling to afford groceries and gas. We cannot afford to send Allan Fung to Congress to rubber stamp McCarthy’s elitist agenda."

One weakness in Magaziner's claims is that the White House is in Democratic hands and the Senate is likely to be controlled by Democrats, so the threat of McCarthy taking action is somewhat hallow. 

 

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